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Yahoo just reported that nine universities have received millions of donations from a donor who not only has not been identified but who has required the schools to agree not to try to find out the identity of the donor. The gifts came through lawyers or other middlemen and came in the form of cashier's checks or checks from a law firm. The donor stipulated that most of the money must be used for scholarships, with some available for research and other needs.

The schools receiving money are Purdue ($8 million), University of Iowa ($7 million), University of Southern Mississippi ($6 million), University of North Carolina at Greensboro ($6 million), University of Maryland University College ($6 million), University of Colorado at Colorado Springs ($5.5 million), Norfolk State University ($3.5 million), Penn State-Harrisburg ($3 million), and the University of North Carolina at Ashville ($1.5 million).

The donor may be an individual or a group of donors acting together. The only thing certain is that the universities are thrilled with the gifts, especially given the current need for more scholarship money.